Discerning God’s Will—In the Vatican and at Home

The world was taken by surprise with the election of Pope Leo XIV. Most of us had never heard of him and for those who had, they did not anticipate his election as our Holy Father. But as I look back at those who have been elected Pope in my lifetime, Pope Benedict XVI is the only one who was not a surprise. The others were unknown to most of us. This serves as a great reminder about what the process of electing a Pope is really all about. We tend to focus on the Cardinals coming together to elect a Pope, much like we might elect someone to a political office. We might think of it as a popularity contest. 

But the idea of the Cardinals coming together is a process of discernment. Prayer is a crucial element. Through this process the Cardinals are discerning whom the Holy Spirit has sent to lead us at this time. They are not electing who they want but are proclaiming who God intends. The result is we are often surprised at who has been elected. It is important for us to offer praise and gratitude to the Holy Spirit who has gifted us Pope Leo XIV.

Looking at the week ahead, I will be heading up to Canada on Saturday for what has become an annual fishing trip. The group I go with includes my brother and four others who I have been going to Canada with for over twenty years. Speaking of surprises, it sounds like the weather has a surprise. Where I go in Canada they have been enjoying summer like weather this week, as we have, with temperatures in the 80’s. However the forecast for Saturday is a high of thirty-seven with snow. BRRRRR. After Sunday, the temperature is expected to be in the 50’s. A good temperature for walleyes to be biting.

At this time of year, your staff are working on two important tasks. We meet at this time of year to prepare our calendar for next year and we will complete our budget. It is challenging to anticipate what the coming year will bring. For both the calendar and budget there are often surprises. Fortunately for the budget the past few years have been generally positive. However we do have a few larger projects that need to be completed this year. 

Last fall we approved paving the roads at the cemetery. Cold weather set in and we were not able to get the work done. The contractor has assured us they will honor our contract. We also will repair the cracks in our church and school parking lots. In addition we will have the church parking lot resealed. We have already accepted a bid for this project. There are some blocks on our church that have started to crack. We will need to complete this repair project this summer. We are also looking at redoing the stucco on the church because it is wearing off. 

One other item that we are giving attention to is our church roof. Upon this spring’s inspection it was discovered that it has sustained significant hail damage. This was from one of the previous storms we had pass through Hudson. We were told at the time that damage doesn’t often present itself until after the roof has experienced freezing and thawing. We are waiting to hear from our insurance company. We opened a case when we initially had the storms, but the roof is fifteen years old. We are waiting to hear what our settlement with the insurance company will be. 

From the election of a new Pope to repairing a roof, there is always something going on in the life of our Church. It is rumored Saint Pope John XXIII had a prayer at night that went something like, “God it is your Church, take care of it, I’m going to bed.” Well, God it is your Church, take care of it, I’m going fishing.  

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